February `14 Monday 2011 Day 6 of the trip Happy Valentines Day

sorry for misspelling guinea pigs but I had senior moment.

Another bonus day for me as we go to the famous potter of native Peruvian art. (I too turned on a wheel and did pottery It was one of my majors in university). The Smithsonian excepted him. We got a tour of his studio and a talk. I got him to hand sign some of the stuff I bought. Our bus continues on to Ollantaytambo ( 90 min )to board the train to Machu P icchu ( a bit less than 2 hrs) . On the train we pass through a Peruvian desert ( many cacti) and a Peruvian jungle. We pass many Inca walls and buildings and many old trails. The train ride was 2 hours. It is raining when we get there .After we get off the train we take a local bus to the entrance to the ruins . Our luggage is sent to the hotel. . We hike a little ways then WOW there it is in all it's glory. One has to experience the grandeur of the place in person. We have a well accomplished guide who was very informative and walked at a reasonable pace. This place is amazing. They use lamas to cut the grass on the terraces. We hike for about 3 hours then return by local bus on a very windy dirt road. Buses passed with care. They let us of and we go to a restaurant ( Pueblo Viego) It hd a huge circular grill in the middle. I got to taste grilled lama ( much like beef). Just as we were finishing dinner all the lights went out in town. We walked to our hotel (Hanaqpacha Inn) using flashlights. They gave us candles for our room. We were beat and went right to bed. We didn't hear a thing, some were bothered by the train all night or the very loud rushing Urubamba river. It rain just about all night.

REMEMBER-Life is a series of commas, not periods.